Shaped and defined by its rivers, Shankhabhumi is a dynamic floodplain surrounded by mountains and crisscrossed by waterways. Most of the land is covered in swamp forests infested with unknown perils, except for three city-states that stand proudly on broad islands of miraculously dry land. The islands on which the cities of Ashwadhatu, Sagorpur, and Tippurika stand were each granted to the people by a different riverine, and at the heart of each city is a temple dedicated to that city’s patron riverine. A fourth city, Manivarsha, was destroyed in a cataclysm five hundred years ago. Each city spreads out in concentric circles from its riverine temple. The innermost circle holds the city’s senate house, main market, and academy, as well as the houses of wealthy citizens. Past these lie modest residential neighborhoods and trade wards. At its edges, each city slopes down to submerged rice fields before dissipating into the swamps. The skies of Shankhabhumi are eternally heavy with rainclouds, and even well-maintained buildings wear a fine coat of moss. To experience Shankhabhumi at its finest, one must visit during the Shankha Trials, held every twelve years in one of the three cities. A twelve-day spectacle of skill and might, the trials feature contestants representing each city who entertain thousands of spectators. But the trials are more than a competition; they represent the origin story of the land and a pact endlessly renewed between the people and the riverines to whom the land belongs.